Interim Social Housing Unit Director appointed
Hon Phil Heatley
Minister for Housing
29 August 2011
Interim Social Housing Unit Director appointed
Housing Minister Phil Heatley has welcomed the appointment of interim Social Housing Unit (SHU) Director, Michael Pead.
"The establishment of the SHU and Michael’s appointment is an important step towards implementing Government’s aim of achieving a significant increase in the volume of social, niche and affordable housing delivered by the third sector," says Mr Heatley.
Earlier this year we announced that $40 million had been set aside to help the third sector grow the volume of social housing.
"The role of the SHU, currently a semi-autonomous unit within the Department of Building and Housing, will be to administer that funding and to actively work with third sector providers to explore and develop opportunities to increase the social and affordable housing pool," says Mr Heatley.
"The Community Housing sector has repeatedly told us and have demonstrated that they are ready, willing and able to step up to provide social and affordable housing at volume. The role of the SHU is to assist the sector with this aim, providing funding, land and if appropriate surplus Housing New Zealand stock, to enable them to leverage the greatest volume of housing possible," says Mr Heatley.
Mr Pead will take the role until a permanent Director is appointed.
Mr Heatley also announced the appointment of a new four-person panel to monitor the progress of social housing reforms.
Chaired by Brian Donnelly, the Ministerial Advisory Panel (MAP) will advise Ministers on how well the reforms are progressing, the results being achieved, and any major issues that arise.
"We have a very important programme of change underway in social housing, the role of the MAP is to ensure Ministers know exactly how the SHU and social housing reforms are progressing," says Mr Heatley.
The Panel members are:
• Brian Donnelly, Chair
• Andrew
Body
• Rau Hoskins
• Lisa Woolley
•
"The
Panel members all have significant expertise in the sector,
which equips them well for this work. The MAP will not be
involved in the day-to-day management of the SHU or in grant
decisions but will instead provide Ministers directly with
independent advice on the direction and progress of reforms.
This will avoid any conflict of interest issues," Minister
Heatley says.
Biographies:
Michael
Pead
Michael has an extensive commercial background
which includes senior management and consultancy experience,
in both the private and public sector. He is also a
chartered accountant. Michael will lead the Social Housing
Unit until the permanent Director is appointed.
Brian
Donnelly
Brian Donnelly is the Executive Director of
the NZ Housing Foundation. Brian is a trustee of the
Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT), a member
of the Social Entrepreneur Fellowship, the Chair of the
Wilson Home Trust, and a member of Auckland’s Social
Policy Forum. He is also a Director of Bridon Group Ltd –
a small property consultancy practice and was a member of
the Housing Shareholders Advisory Group.
Andrew
Body
Andrew Body is a Director of Crown Fibre
Holdings Limited. He was a shareholder and Director of FR
Partners until 2001.
He has 20 years experience as investment banker & private banker focussing on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising.
He will contribute experience in business and particularly the property sector. Andrew was a member of the Housing Shareholder Advisory Group.
Rau Hoskins
Rau Hoskins (Ngāti Wai, and
Ngāti Hau) is a director of the Design TRIBE architectural
practice specialising in kaupapa Maori design. Rau has
lectured in Maori architecture at the Auckland and UNITEC
School’s of Architecture since 1990 and currently co-heads
Te Hononga - The Centre for Maori Architecture and
Appropriate Technologies at Unitec. Rau wrote the Maori
Housing design guide in 2002, convened the inaugural hui of
Maori design professionals in 2006 and was an elected
delegate of the National Maori Housing Conference in 2010.
He is a founding board member of the Centre for Housing
Research Aotearoa New Zealand, a member of the Council for
Community Housing Aotearoa, and the Acting Chair of Te
Matapihi National Housing Advocacy Group. Rau holds a
Masters in Architecture degree from the University of
Auckland.
Lisa Woolley
Lisa is the Chief
Executive Officer of the VisionWest Community Trust in West
Auckland, which has been offering community-based services
to people in West Auckland since the 1980’s. The Trust’s
work includes providing safe, healthy, affordable, quality
housing for low-income families combined with support for
other aspects of the tenants’ lives. Lisa is also a
member of the Council for Community Housing Aotearoa. She
has a Graduate Diploma in Not for Profit Management and is
currently studying towards a Masters in Social
Practice.
ENDS